Twin Peaks Film Location – Great Northern Hotel Loading Dock

This past week has been a blur and, to paraphrase my band, “Time keeps on slipping into the future.” During this stretch of time with no updates on Twin Peaks Blog, I’ve been actively searching for new film locations and working on another article that will be a treat for long-time Twin Peaks fans (more on the latter at another time). Today, I’m excited to share the spot where James Hurley and Freddie Sykes take a break on the Great Northern Hotel loading dock. I’ve been actively searching for this spot since 2019 following a tweet from a Twin Peaks actor. This article will be the first of several about scenes captured at this historic California landmark.

WHERE IS THE GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL LOADING DOCK LOCATED?

The loading dock is located on the former Lanterman Developmental Center located at 3530 Pomona Blvd in Pomona, California. The approximate coordinates for this scene are 34°02’28.7″N 117°48’32.8″W. The facility closed in 2015 and is now part of California State Polytechnic University.

This Great Northern Hotel loading dock scene was shot on March 8, 2016. It’s the same day Hawk finding the torn diary pages was shot.

HISTORY OF LANTERMAN DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER

Opening on May 2, 1927 in Pomona, California, the Lanterman Developmental Center (LDC) provided services and support to people with developmental disabilities 24-hours a day, seven days a week. At one point the facility consisted of nine client residences, one acute hospital unit, a variety of training and work sites, a Vocational Training Center, and recreation facilities including camp, carousel, playgrounds, track, and a ballpark.

According to their now defunct website, the 87-year history of LDC’s name changes “parallels the tremendous shift in perception as to how the people of California understand their fellow citizens who lived at LDC.”

It began as Pacific Colony where people with developmental disabilities were once considered to be “inmates” and needed to be locked away forever from society because of their “insanity.” The name changed to Pacific State Hospital in 1953. Residents now considered patients who were sick and needed treatment to be made well.

State Assemblyman Frank D. Lanterman helped pass the Lanterman Act in 1977 that gave people with developmental disabilities the “right to services and supports that enable them to live a more independent and normal life.” The facility changed its name – Frank D. Lanterman State Hospital and Developmental Center – in 1979 to honor his dedication.

Lanterman was the grandson of the co-founder of La Cañada Flintridge, Jacob Lanterman. You may recall that Jacques Renault’s cabin and Big Ed’s Gas Farm from Episode 1005 are both located in this city.

He was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1950 and was reelected to serve for fourteen consecutive terms. He retired in 1978 and passed away on April 29, 1981.

The state later dropped “state hospital” in the 1980s. Lanterman Developmental Center’s last resident moved into the community on December 23, 2014 and the facility began shut down operations. The facility property was transferred to the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona on July 1, 2015.

FINDING THE GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL LOADING DOCK LOCATION

My search for this spot began after Adele Rene, who played Lt. Knox in Season 3, responded to a tweet about the location of Buckhorn Police Station. The station scenes were shot at the Highland Park Police Station, 6056 York Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. After her tweet, I spent countless hours looking for a location of a morgue in the vicinity of the station. Sadly, I was never able to locate such as spot.

The spot had to be somewhere else in southern California. I expanded my search and stumbled upon RSI Locations.

It didn’t take long to confirm this was the spot. As an aside, I jumped out of my office chair and did a dance down the hall and around the kitchen. There is no greater feeling than finally locating a spot after months of research. Interestingly, the loading dock is about a 33-minute drive from the police station.

RSI Locations describes this location: “300-room hospital offers three distinct exterior looks and over 12,000 square-feet of shootable interiors, including lobby, reception areas, nurse’s stations, and dozens of amazing long hallways, patient rooms, treatment rooms, waiting rooms, operating theaters, x-ray lab, morgue, physical therapy, dental clinic, cafeteria, kitchen, stairwells, restrooms and more.”

Clearly, the crew used this facility for plenty of shots which I’ll be discussing in the coming weeks.

GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL ESTABLISHING SHOT

The scene opens with a recycled shot from Season 2.

I captured a similar shot of the Salish Lodge & Spa on September 15, 2019 during my return to Snoqualmie Valley, Washington.

THE GREAT NORTHERN BACKDOOR

For this article (and all others going forward), I will be referencing fellow Bookhouse Boy Bo Wisneski’s work. He r into what looks like a script. Since no official scripts for Season 3 were released, these are the next best thing. Amazing work, sir!

EXT. THE GREAT NORTHERN BACKDOOR – SAME TIME
Freddie and James sit on the edge of a loading dock. Freddie attempts to shell but ends up breaking walnuts. He wipes the remains on his pants.

I love seeing these screen caps of Freddie smashing the walnut.

It reminded me of the scene in Episode 2007 (directed by David Lynch) where Nadine Hurley smashes a milkshake glass at the Double R Diner.

The scene cuts to a wide-angle shot of James and Freddie on the back dock.

I found a similar image from this location on the internet. Notice the green door and the cage.

JAMES HURLEY BREAKS A NUT

James pulls out a walnut and cracks it using a nutcracker. He hands the nut to Freddie.

FREDDIE AND JAMES DISCUSS ON THE LOADING DOCK

Freddie and James discuss a number of things. I won’t transcribe their lengthy dialogue but we learn that they have one more delivery and then they will visit the Roadhouse. Freddie is 23 and James is celebrating his birthday that night.

You can see part of the metal pole and cage behind Freddie in this location shot.

JAMES HURLEY’S BIRTHDAY

According to the “Twin Peaks Access Guide to the Town,” James Hurley was born on January 1, 1973. In Part 14, he would have been celebrating his birthday on September 30. Difficult to say why the change was made yet it wouldn’t be the first time that continuity errors existed.

STORYTIME WITH FREDDIE

Andrew Grevas from 25YL Site spoke with Jake Wardle about playing Freddie Sykes in Season 3. Jake had some of the best monologues, many of which he had time to prepare.

Andrew Grevas: How far in advance did you get your script, and how was your role explained to you?

Jake Wardle: I received most of my script (the monologue scene, Roadhouse scenes, and some of the jail cell dialogue) about five months in advance. The rest (the BOB fight scene and punching Chad) I received on the day of filming. In fact, I didn’t even receive an actual script for the BOB fight scene, I was just told what to do on the day and the few lines I had were written on a post-it note. This was clearly done to preserve the secrecy of that vital scene and avoid any potential leaks. For me, I’m glad it was done this way because it was the best surprise ever. I knew Freddie would do something but had no idea it would be that important.

FREDDIE AND THE GREEN GLOVE

Jake shared with Andrew what David Lynch told him about his character:

David himself initially explained the role of Freddie to me on Skype. He said something along the lines of “You’ll be playing a character called Freddie, he’s British like you and also from East London. He’s a cockney, and he wears this green gardening glove on his right hand that has super strength” something like that. I remember enthusiastically replying “Cool” and him laughing.

Interestingly, Lynch supposedly had the idea for Freddie’s glove for a long time.

On Page 500 of “Room to Dream,” Lynch told co-author Kristine McKenna a story about casting Jake Wardle. During the story, he mentions the green glove.

“I had the green-glove idea from long ago and originally Jack Nance was going to wear it, and that would’ve been a whole different thing.”

Either way, I can’t image Freddie Sykes without that glove. James would leave the scene with Freddie to check on the furnaces. That scene with James in the boiler room was shot at a different location on December 17, 2015 (another story for another time).